| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Public Opinion | The aggregation of people's views about issues, situations, and public figures. |
| Ideology | System of beliefs in which one or more organizing principles connect the individual's views on a wide range of issues. |
| Compositional Effect | A change in the behavior of a group that arises from a change in the group's composition, not from a change in the behavior of individuals in the group. |
| Mass Public | Ordinary people for whom politics is a peripheral concern. |
| Voter Mobilization | The efforts of parties, groups, and activists to encourage their supporters to turn out for elections. |
| Undervotes | Ballots that indicate no choice for an office, whether because the voter abstained or because the voter's intention could not be determined. |
| Overvotes | Ballots that have more than one choice for an office, whether because the voter voted for more than one candidate or wrote in a name as well as making a mark. |
| Pluralism | A school of thought holding that politics is the clash of groups that represent all important interests in society and that check and balance each other. |
| Free-Rider Problem | Problem that arises when people can enjoy the benefits of group activity without bearing any of the costs. |
| Grassroots Lobbying | Efforts by groups and associations to influence elected officials indirectly, by arousing their constituents. |
| Lobbying | Interest-group activities intended to influence directly the decisions that public officials make. |
| Political Action Committee | Specialized organization for raising and contributing campaign funds. |
| Issue Advocacy | Advertising campaigns that attempt to influence public opinion on the same issue. |
| Direct Action | Everything from peaceful sit-ins and demonstrations to riots and even rebellion. |
| Iron Triangle | Close, stable connection among agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees. |
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